Sunny Days
by Borua
Summary: After a makeover, Hinata is the prettiest girl at her school. Romance blossoms between her and...many others.  NaruxHina, SasuxHina, NaruxSaku, SasuxSaku, HinaxOC, HinaxKiba, HinaxGaara, HinaxShika, HinaxSai
1. Chapter 1: A New School

Chapter One

A New School

Her heart was pounding. Her hands were trembling. Her _knees _were rattling.

Hyuuga Hinata closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. The blond-haired boy's deep blue eyes were only inches away from her face. He seemed to be observing her closely, his eyes scanning her up and down as if she were nothing more than a pale piece of meat. ...Or at least that's what she _felt _like. His nose twitched back and forth, and his scrunched up face suggested that he were thinking hard about her. His arms were behind his back, his hands clasped together as he leaned towards her, watching her every slight movement. And not to mention the strangely curious look in his eyes.

A minute of this passed. She was growing more and more frightened. It would have been different if he had looked even _slightly _Japanese...but he didn't.

"Hey," he finally said, unclasping his hands to scratch the strange whiskers on his cheeks. "What are you doing out here, _**strange, weird girl?**_"

It was too much for her. She could feel herself beginning to faint-

"Hey... Hey. Hey! What the heck!" He reached forward just in time, just before her head slammed into the floor. "Hey! Don't faint on me strange, weird, girl!"

"NARUTO! Just what on earth are you doing?" came a voice from behind him. A pretty, long-haired girl with cherry-blossom pink hair suddenly stomped forward, grabbing him by the base of his neck. "Just what do you think you're doing to that girl!"

"But Sakuraaa-_chaaaaan_...!"

"Don't give me that! Put her down _right now_, you pervert!"

"But you don't understand! She fainted on me!" he said, gently placing the fainted Hinata on the floor of the school hallway.

"Well of _course_ she fainted! No girl wants some creepy guy suddenly touching her!"

"But-!"

"Move!" The pink-haired girl shoved him roughly out of the way. Leaning gently over Hinata's limp body, she placed her hands behind her back and shook her as lightly as she could. The poor girl was as pale as a bleached shirt. "Erm...are you okay? Please wake up."

Hinata's eyes opened slowly. This time, there were _green _eyes staring her in the face. But the green eyes belonged to a girl.

"Nn..." She rubbed her eyes. "...I'm... I'm okay..."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Naruto didn't do anything to you, did he?"

"N...Naruto?"

"Yeah, this _boy _behind me," Sakura replied, turning her head around to glare at said boy.

"No..." Hinata replied quietly, pushing herself upright.

"Good." Sakura smiled, reaching out a gentle hand. "My name's Sakura, by the way. Haruno Sakura."

"Hello there..." Hinata responded, accepting the hand as she was swiftly pulled to her feet. "I'm Hinata..."

"You're pretty shy, Hinata-" Naruto suddenly cut in, only to find himself looking straight into angry green eyes.

"So anyways..." Sakura said, turning back around to the dark-haired girl, "...why are you out here anyways? Class is going to start soon."

"I'm just...shy..."

"Oh really-"

"Sakura's not!" Naruto cut in again.

Sakura turned around quickly, her anger seething. Curling her fingers into a tight fist, she slammed her hand against the lockers. "NARUTO! SHUT UP!"

"See what I mean?"

Hinata glanced back and forth between the two, a shy smile forming on her lips. "You two...are silly... ...Are you a couple...?"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah!"

"NARUTO! DON'T LIE TO HER!" Sakura fumed. She gritted her teeth together angrily. "...I swear..."

Hinata laughed lightly. These two were funny, whoever they were.

"No, we're not a couple... But he's always chasing me around..." Sakura said, sighing miserably. "It can be really annoying sometimes..."

A sly smirk crossed Naruto's face. "But you're always chasing around..._Sasukeeeee-kuuunnnn_-"

A powerful fist suddenly slammed into his face, knocking him clean off his feet. He fell to the floor with a loud _thud. _Sakura stood over him angrily, her cheeks flushed, and hot steam practically whizzing out of her nose. She cracked her knuckles loudly, preparing for another blow.

"WHAT WAS THAT!"

"N... Nothing, Sakura-chaan..." Naruto groaned.

This time, Hinata giggled. No, these two weren't funny. They were _hilarious. _It had been a long time since anyone had actually made her laugh before. Maybe they weren't as bad as they seemed after all.

Sakura turned back to the giggling girl. Smiling in embarrassment, she rubbed the back of her head. The flush on her face deepened. "Sorry about that. I have to put him in his place sometimes."

"It's okay."

"Well then, are you coming into the classroom? Class will be starting in..." She stepped back and poked her head into the classroom. "...erm... I can't really tell. Looks like there's about three minutes left."

Hinata shook her head quickly. "No, I can't... There's too many people in there... I already looked..."

"Oh really? You think so?" Sakura asked, glancing back into the classroom. "There's only Neji, Shikamaru, Kaitlin, Amy, Rin, Gaara, Kiba-"

"S...Stop...!" Hinata pleaded, closing her eyes. "Even if there were only two people, I'd be scared..."

"...What about one...?"

Hinata bit her lip. "Well... Maybe..."

"Come on. You need to get over this." Sakura smiled gently, placing a motherly hand on her back. "You can't stay out here forever."

"Yes I can..."

A silence passed between the two of them. ...But not for very long. Sakura suddenly snapped her fingers, an idea occurring to her. It was perfect.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto mumbled, his cheek still red and aching. "What's wrong?"

"I think I have an idea."

"What...what is it?" Hinata asked quietly.

"Well... I'll stand on one side of you, and Naruto here..." She pointed a thumb behind her. "...will stand on the other side. Then we'll all walk in together."

Hinata shook her head. "I can't... It's too-"

"What if we stand in front of you, so you can't see everyone looking?" Naruto suggested. "Then we'll hide you as you take your seat, and then - by that time - everyone will have looked away."

Sakura gasped. "That's a great idea! ...As much as I hate to say it."

"Well..." Hinata began. "Um... I guess that would be...okay..."

"Great," Sakura said. "Naruto, you stand to my right. I'll stand on the left."

Naruto obediently got up and took his position beside Sakura. Sakura eyed him warningly as his shoulder touched against hers. ("Just in case you forget your place," she muttered.) Hinata stood behind the two of them, her trembles beginning to die down. Was she really going to do this? Was she really prepared to enter a classroom with so many people eying her?

"Alright now. Let's go," Sakura said. "Class will start in like two minutes, I'm not joking."

"Okay..." Hinata mumbled shyly.

So into the classroom they went. Sakura and Naruto walked as stiff as boards to protect Hinata from observing eyes. Needless to say, they seemed to get _more _attention this way than if they had come into the class by themselves. Or at least Hinata thought. She was - although not shaking as much as before - still nervous about the whole thing. Her hands clasped together, she tried to focus her attention between the heads of the two people walking in front of her. Unfortunately, people could easily see her frightfulness from behind, so she had to continuously whisper encouragements to herself to prevent from looking back at them. Things like, "Don't look back... Don't look back..." and "Keep moving... Keep moving..."

The seat that they were heading towards was situated in the very back of the class, all the way in the far right corner of the room. Sunlight poured in through the partly-opened window, highlighting - and warming - the desk and chair. It looked like that seat had been laid out _just _for her, as she loved the sunlight, and especially loved looking outside at the cherry blossom trees. It would have been perfect if not for the strange student sitting at the desk just in front of hers; his cheeks were painted with upside-down red triangles; a furry hood sat just at his neck (which was odd since it was late August); his sharp, cat-like eyes were focused intently on Hinata as she came down the aisle, seeming to pierce right through her. Hinata shivered.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Sakura said as they finally reached the seat. It had only taken them about ten seconds to walk through the classroom, but Hinata felt like it had taken them _hours_.

Nodding her head shyly, Hinata walked over to her seat and sat down. The strange boy in the seat in front of her wasn't staring at her anymore, thankfully.

"This is Kiba," Naruto suddenly said, placing a friendly hand against the boy's shoulder.

Kiba turned his head around. Hinata could feel herself sweating as his eyes ran over the length of her body- but especially her face.

"Nice to meet you...?" he started, glancing over at Sakura and Naruto for help.

Hinata blinked.

"Erm... I think he's asking for your name," Sakura said.

"...Oh...! Um... My name is...Hinata... Hyuuga Hinata..."

"Nice to meet you Hinata Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto and Sakura laughed, as well as a few others in the classroom who had been nosily listening to the conversation. Hinata could feel herself flushing in embarrassment. Placing her trembling hands over her face, she closed her eyes. What could she possibly say...?

"You're really shy, aren't you?" Kiba asked her.

Hinata nodded.

"Are you scared?"

Hinata nodded.

"Why?"

Hinata nodd- She pulled the hands away from her face, revealing the embarrassed flush that had forced its way along her cheeks. "I...um... It's nothing..."

"Tell me, come on."

"Well..."

"Come on, Hinata Hyuuga Hinata."

"Jokes are never funny the second time," Naruto cut in.

"Ah, shut up, Naruto. I'm trying to make her feel comfortable."

Hinata trembled. "Well... I...um..."

Before she had time to answer, the sudden ringing of the school bell pounded through her ears. Startled, she nearly jumped up out of her seat. It had almost given her a heart attack. The others groaned.

"Aw, too bad," Naruto said. "She almost said it, too."

"Maybe we can all meet together during lunch," Sakura said, pointing through the window. "We can meet together underneath the cherry blossom trees. And then we can all eat lunch together."

"Good idea," Kiba responded. He turned back to Hinata, a frown on his face. "So, new, shy girl. Are you willing to do this?"

Hinata sighed.

"Come onnnnn."

"Well..."

"You say 'well' a lot, don't you?" Naruto asked.

"Shut up, Naruto. She's making a decision," Kiba said, waving his hand quickly.

"Well... Um... I think that would be a...a good-"

"Great! Then we'll do it!" Kiba slammed his palm against the desk, nearly shocking Hinata into another almost-heart-attack. "And we can all get our lunch from that bento stand that sits by the road."

Hinata nodded slowly, biting her lip. Would it really be a good idea to be out there with people she didn't know? But then again...they seemed nice enough. They didn't seem like the type of people who would do anything to her, or tease her, or hurt her.

So then maybe... Just maybe... It wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

><p>Sakura growled, a piece of fried bento entering her mouth.<p>

The group of four was sitting in a semi-circle beneath the cherry blossom trees, their legs crossed loosely beneath them on the grass. Hinata was in the middle, beside Sakura and Naruto, with Kiba sitting on the very end. The three of them had been chatting and joking with each other for the past five minutes while Hinata sat shyly - and seemingly - in her own little unique bubble. It was as if they had completely forgotten about the earlier question.

But Hinata didn't care. It was nice to just be silent and enjoy the cool breeze that rustled the cherry blossoms, and to sit with her eyes closed, and to feel the sun warming her face. It felt good with the grass tickling her knees, and her short hair swaying back and forth in the wind. And the smells that entered her nose - the summer flowers, and the freshly-cut lawn - were nice as well. It was ten times better than being stuck inside the school.

Sucking in a deep breath, Hinata sighed. Her bento was getting cold.

"...and so, she told me that Sasuke was _hers, _and I was thinking to myself...'Ino-pig, are you _crazy _or something? You know you don't have a chance in _Hell._' I wanted to say that so bad, but..."

"So why didn't you?" Naruto asked, chewing quickly as was his usual habit.

"_Obviously, _because we would have gotten into another fist fight. ...Not like I was afraid of her, though. I know I can beat Ino-pig any day, at any time."

"Well I, for one, think that you two need to just make up," Kiba stated, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, seriously? You guys fight like a snake and a mongoose."

"...Which one's the snake...?" Sakura asked in a jokingly threatening tone.

"Obviously you are-"

"SHUT UP, Naruto, before I shove that bento down your throat."

Kiba laughed. "You two..."

"Us two, _what?_" Sakura asked. Now it was _her _turn to raise an eyebrow. "You don't think I actually _like _him, do you?"

"Well... You guys don't fight like friends. You fight like an old, angry married couple."

"Oh, please." Sakura shoved another piece of bento in her mouth. "I would rather jump off a _cliff_ than to be the girlfriend if this...this _pervert_."

"Can we change the subject already?" Naruto asked, the smile on his lips wavering. "...I mean...we get that a lot. It's getting old."

Hinata thought she could sense something different in his voice. Sakura didn't seem to sense it at all, although Kiba seemed to have a slight understanding. He quickly changed the subject, running a hand through his dark hair.

"So... Hinata... About that earlier question..."

Hinata sighed. She wasn't looking forward to answering this.

"Well...the reason...that I'm so...shy-"

"Well isn't this just a nice little group."

The group turned around at the smug voice. A handsome boy stood just a few feet away, his short, raven-colored hair parted at his forehead and hanging down along both sides of his face. The wind ruffled his school uniform, paddling it roughly along the smooth, muscular lines of his body. Dark eyes stared directly at Kiba, their intensity beyond anything Hinata had ever seen before.

Sakura held her breath.

"Hey, man," Kiba said, standing to his feet. He and the raven-haired boy exchanged a handshake that Hinata had never seen before. "I thought you had work to do."

"No." It was a simple answer. His dark eyes narrowed. "I just came out here to remind you of that..._thing_."

Kiba's eyes widened. He suddenly sighed, placing his hands into his pants pockets. "...I'll have it for you tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

The raven-haired boy raised his arm, and - for a moment - it looked like he were going to slap Kiba. ...But instead, they exchanged handshakes again.

"Alright. Tomorrow," the boy replied, smirking. "But I'm telling you now. You need to have it by then."

"Alright."

Satisfied with the answer, the raven-haired boy turned to walk away-

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura suddenly cried, her heart pounding against her chest. "Wait!"

Sasuke stopped, although he didn't turn around.

"I just... I just..." Sakura bit her lip. "I just wanted to say hello and all... Since this is the start of a new school year and...and..."

"I don't care."

He started to walk away.

"Wait! Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried again, standing to her feet.

Sasuke sighed, swiping a hand boredly over his features. "I already told you, I don't care."

"But-"

"Leave me alone."

Sakura watched in bewilderment as he walked slowly away, shaking his head to himself as if she were the most disgusting thing in the world. A sigh escaped her as she, once again, took a crossed-legged seat on the grass. She placed her head in her hands, her elbows steady against her thighs.

"Sasuke-kun..." she muttered, breath hitching in her throat. It wasn't a new thing for him to treat her like that, but every time, it made her feel the exact same. She knew that it was foolish to continue going after someone who didn't like her, but...

"Why do you let him treat you like that?" Kiba suddenly asked, quiet enough so said boy couldn't hear him. "And why do you chase him around so much if he's only going to hurt you?"

She sighed. "I don't want to talk about it..."

"It's okay, Sakura-chan. You've always got _me_." Naruto grinned, placing a comforting hand against her back-

"_Don't _touch me, Uzumaki."

"Geez, Sakura, he's only trying to help you. What's your problem?"

"Look, Kiba. I've got some issues of my own, okay?" she snapped.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "But any time _anyone _tries to help you, you push them away. It's really annoying."

"I don't want to talk about it."

Hinata watched sadly as the fight progressed. _This _was why she didn't like dealing with people. Fights, anger, irritations, hurts, pains... These sort of things were why she just couldn't allow herself to associate with them. Although it wasn't the only reason, it was still a very _valid_ one.

Sighing, she placed her arms behind her, palms against the ground. The fight was getting louder. "You... You know...?" she began, shyly, the brief fight suddenly stopping as everyone turned to look at her. "...I think that we should all just...calm down..."

Kiba nodded, thrusting a fist against his palm. "Yeah. Exactly. I'm really getting ticked off. Let's all just eat our food and shut up."

So a strange silence passed over the group. Hinata ate her food slowly, occasionally pausing to swipe a petal away that had fallen from the cherry blossom tree, whilst Sakura shoved her food into her mouth, half-irritated at Kiba; half-sullen at how Sasuke had treated her. Naruto had already finished his food, and was leaning back against his palms, occasionally sighing whenever Sakura accidentally bumped up against him; and Kiba, he was just plain ticked off.

It was like this for the next three minutes; the longest three minutes that Hinata had ever felt. She leaned forward to take the next bite-

"Watch out behind you!" came a sudden loud scream.

Before anyone had any time to react, or to think about what could possibly be happening, Naruto quickly jumped out of his seat, leaping straight for Hinata. She closed her eyes with a loud shriek as he fell into her, pushing her down into the ground. A soccer ball suddenly whizzed past the group, slamming into the tree behind them. It had impacted against the trunk so hard that the tree itself had been shaken. Hinata kept her eyes closed, her heart racing in fear. The blond-haired, American-looking boy was still on top of her, his body completely covering hers, and his face only inches away. She flushed at the thought.

"Wow..." Naruto said, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl beneath him was sweating bullets. "That was a close one. ...Are you okay?"

Hinata bit her lip, face still flushing.

"Are you hurt at all?"

She shook her head no.

"Good."

Naruto finally stood up. As he reached a kind hand towards the fallen girl, Hinata hesitated, her heart pounding like a hammer against her chest... But she eventually took it - although slowly - and was pulled quickly up off her feet.

"Wow, nice one, Naruto!" Kiba said. "That was awesome!"

"I do have to admit, I hadn't seen that coming right away," Sakura admitted, smiling gently.

Naruto put a humble hand behind his head, grinning. "It was nothing."

As the group continued to rave about the heroic move, Hinata still stood there, her face still flushing, her lips still trembling. She put a hand to her red cheeks, staring at the blond-haired boy with a confused expression. Naruto had saved her. He had saved her from a possible concussion. It had been the bravest move she had ever seen anyone do for her. In fact, it was the _only _brave thing that anyone had ever done for her. She bit her lip again, closing her eyes.

Naruto...

No.

Naruto-kun...

"Hinata?" Sakura asked, placing a hand against the poor, dreaming girl's shoulders. "...Are you feeling okay? You look...dazed."

"I'm... I'm fine..."

"Are you sure? Naruto's big, stinky body didn't knock into you too hard, did it?"

"Sakura-_chaaaan_...!"

Hinata shook her head quickly. "No... I'm fine..." She glanced over at Naruto, a smile forming on her lips. "Thank you... Naruto-kun."

"'Naruto-kun'?"

Naruto grinned, rubbing his knuckles against his shirt. "I feel so special now!"

"Oh, shut up, Uzumaki."

Hinata placed a hand over her mouth, struggling to keep in the laugh that was trying to push through. "Thank you both..."

"For what?" Sakura asked.

"For...for helping me into the classroom, and... Helping me to get over my...nervousness..."

"It was nothing," Sakura said, smiling. "We're just happy you were _able _to get over it."

"I haven't...gotten completely over it yet though..." Hinata said, trembling. "I still am very afraid of people..."

"Well we'll just have to get you over it, then, won't we?" Kiba said, laughing.

Hinata nodded. "Yeah..."

The conversation was briefly cut off by the sudden ringing of the school bell. Hinata smoothed down the folds of her skirt, nervous to go back inside. Sakura smiled knowingly.

"We'll help you go in," she said. "We'll do what we did before. And this time, there's _three _of us to help you."

Hinata nodded.

"Kay, then, let's hurry."

The group started quickly inside. As they rushed across the large front-lawn of the school, Hinata sighed contentedly. Sakura, Naruto, Kiba... They were all pretty good people it seemed. They weren't rude to her, and they especially didn't tease her or pull her hair... Maybe, just maybe, this school year wouldn't be so bad after all.

But as they entered the school's front doors, Hinata thought she saw a dark-haired figure watching her from the third-floor windows, his dark eyes tracing her every step.

...Before she could truly see who it was, he had already disappeared.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. ^^; The makeover is in chapter two.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2: A Brand New Hinata

Chapter Two

A Brand New Hinata

It was the very next day. The first period's last bell rang loudly throughout Kotoba High, sending students _streaming_ out of their classrooms, their chatter and laughing echoing loudly through the hallways.

Hinata clutched her books tightly to her chest as she poked her head out of the classroom. Biting her lip, as was her usual nervous habit, she glanced to the left and to the right to make sure she wasn't trampled in the tornado-like action that was taking place before her. It was either now, or never, she thought, swallowing hard. She could either go now, and succeed at life...or not go at all, and fail miserably.

_'I think I'll just... I'll just stay here...'_ It was a pitiful thought, she knew, but she couldn't help feeling so frightened. Especially after what those horrible children had done to her-

"HINATA!"

Kiba's sudden hand against her shoulder nearly startled her into pieces. The books fell from her hands against her will.

"Gah, Hinata, you don't have to be so scared all the time, you know," he stated, as if it were a fact.

Hinata leaned forward and grabbed her fallen books. "I can't help it..."

"Yes you can. It's all a state of mind," Kiba replied. "If you just get over your fears with self talk, everything should be okay."

"I...don't believe in psychology or...or what it's called..."

"Meh. Whatever you say." He shrugged. "Either way, you're still standing here scared out of your mind. Are you going to go soon, or what?"

"I can't..."

"Yes you can."

"I can't..."

"Yes, you can."

"I...can't..."

"Yes. You. Can. Just believe you can." He placed his other hand on her shoulder, shaking her roughly. "I want you to just trust me on this."

"But they're all... They're all staring at me... They'll all start laughing at me, and...and..."

"Where'd you get _that _idea from?"

Hinata bit her lip. "It's nothing..."

"No, tell me."

"But..."

"Hinata." He grinned, shaking her again; this time, gently. "You can trust me. I'm your friend."

"...Friend...?"

"Yeah, obviously. We're _all_ friends. Me, you, Sakura, Naruto... Haven't you already figured that out?"

She shook her head quickly.

"Gah. You're hopeless."

"Kiba, don't tell her that," Sakura said as she came up behind him. "You'll scare her more."

He turned around, grinning. "It's called reverse psychology."

"It's called let _me _do the talking," Sakura replied, roughly shoving him out of the way. "Listen, Hinata. I know you're scared again, but...we can't walk in front of you every day..."

"You guys can go on ahead this time... I'm fine..."

"No, you're _not _fine," Sakura said gently. "You're going to need a lot of help to get through this..."

Hinata trembled. The girls in the classroom across the hall were staring at her strangely. She closed her eyes tight, trying to ignore them.

"So..." Sakura continued. "...Let's start by pushing you..."

"No...no thanks..."

"...with helpful words."

Hinata opened her eyes. The girls in the classroom across the hall were now pointing at her and whispering among themselves.

"Um...Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah?"

Hinata tilted her head slightly, trying to motion - without being obvious - towards the girls who were staring. "I think...I think they're making fun of me..."

"Oh really?" Sakura made a _large, greater-than-life, obvious_ motion with her hand, pointing a finger sharply towards the two girls. "You mean _them?_"

The girls, noticing her pointing finger, suddenly stopped chatting. Without another word, they quickly left the classroom.

"See?" Sakura said. "They're just afraid. People who make fun of others are just stupid, in my opinion. They need to grow up."

"But... But..." Hinata flushed in embarrassment. "...What do you think they were saying?"

"Who cares? All that matters is that they've stopped now."

Hinata nodded, though not truly satisfied.

"So now, let's work on getting you out of the classroom. You ready Kiba?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good," Sakura said, smiling.

It took several tries - several very, _very, very _difficult tries - but eventually, they were able to convince Hinata to step out of the classroom. To do it, she had to step forward, her eyes tightly closed - which is never a good idea - and do so until she had made it past the door. When she was finally right in the middle of the hallway, she turned around and opened her eyes, expecting to see their smiling faces just behind her, and cheering her on...

But they were gone.

...They had left her. On purpose.

Hinata sucked in a deep breath. ...Why would they do that to her? Why would they just leave her hanging like that? Now she was stuck in the middle of a raging school hallway, filled with students of all shapes and sizes...and nowhere to go. She felt like a house pet that had just been thrown out into the middle of the forest; with other, horrible, ravaging animals passing by on either side.

_'What do I do now?'_ she thought as students whizzed quickly past her. _'Where do I go? I completely forgot where my next class is...'_

Sighing shakily, she reached into the topmost notebook and grabbed the class schedule-

"Hey, watch it!" someone said as they bumped roughly into her, the paper falling from her hands. "Don't just stand there in the middle of the freakin' hallway!"

"S...Sorry..." Hinata muttered, even though it was clearly their fault for running through the hallway anyways.

Sighing miserably, she knelt down to pick up the fallen paper. As she reached for it, however, a foot suddenly placed itself over it. Hinata looked up at the person, confused.

"Hi, ugly person!"

It was one of the girls who had been making fun of her from across the hall. Long, beautiful blonde hair fell softly across her shoulders, framing her dark, intense, hazel eyes. She was pretty, Hinata thought, swallowing hard. She was probably one of the popular girls in the school.

"I said, 'hi', ugly person!" the girl repeated, a smirk crossing her pink-glossed lips. She reached down and felt across Hinata's dark hair, her eyes widening. Lips curling into a smug grin, she turned her head to look behind her. "Hey! Katie! Come 'ere! Hurry up!"

Katie - who was slightly chubby, but still beautiful nonetheless - ran up to the girl quickly, her dark brown hair sweeping out behind her as she approached. "What is it- oh." She paused. "It's that...girl."

"Oh... It's a girl?" The other girl faked confusion. "I thought it was a boy. I mean, her hair is so effing short."

Katie grinned. "You're so mean, Steph."

"I'm just telling it like it is."

Hinata closed her eyes, memories of her childhood beginning to sweep through her mind. This was not happening again.

"Um... I'm just..."

"Ew, she's talking," Stephanie laughed.

"...What do you think she's saying?"

"I dunno. What do you think?"

"I don't know."

"Want to try deciphering it?"

Hinata lowered her eyes to the ground. "I... I need to go to class-"

"I think she says she has to go to class," Katie said, tossing her hair back behind her.

"Oh really? Well isn't that funny. We do too!" Stephanie paused, putting a finger against her chin. She turned to Katie suddenly, her eyes widening. "Hey! I have an idea! Let's _all _go to class! ..._Together!_"

Katie laughed. "Nah, Steph. You know what Mr.-"

"...What do you think of this idea, ugly girl?"

"Please don't call me that..." Hinata said. Something like anger burned in her chest. "I really...have to go-"

"Come on! Let's go!"

Grabbing Hinata by her arm, Stephanie pulled the poor girl quickly to her feet. "Please... Um..." Hinata mumbled, only to be blatantly ignored. Stephanie placed an arm around Hinata's shoulder, cuing for Katie to do the same. When both girls had their arms tightly around Hinata on either side, Stephanie suddenly started forward.

"We're going down the halls... Going down the halls... To class...! To class...!" she sang cruelly, skipping down the hallway. Katie did the same thing, laughing lightly the entire way, so that Hinata was stuck between the two of them and unable to escape their tight grip around her shoulders. She nearly tripped over her own feet trying to keep up with them. "Isn't this fun!" Stephanie said, using her other hand to messily rub the top of Hinata's hair. Hinata could only purse her lips in bewilderment.

"Please... I, um..." she began, not really knowing what to say.

"Ah, ah, ah, we haven't finished our song yet!"

"But..."

"We're going down the halls... Going down the halls... To class...! To class...! ...Now _you_ try!"

Hinata could feel the anger from before biting her in the chest, as well as a painful, embarrassing sadness that she was only too familiar with. As she was forced down the hallway between them, with other students watching, and pointing, and laughing, and doing every other evil that young, teenage students were so accustomed to doing; she couldn't help but close her eyes and just hope for it to be over. This was why she didn't like people. This was why she absolutely - and secretly - _hated_ them.

Stephanie and Katie eventually reached the end of the hallway, their song ending abruptly. Turning to the upset Hinata, they high-fived above her head, giggling and chuckling all the while. Hinata could only stand there feeling stupid, her cheeks flushed deep red from anger and embarrassment. She clutched her books tighter to her chest, wanting to practically scream.

"Hey, Steph? I think she's like super ticked off."

"F- her then," she replied, turning to Hinata with a look of pity. "Oh, also, ugly girl. Tell your pink-haired friend to go f- off. She thinks she can scare us by pointing some stupid finger at us... I'll rip that stupid, ugly weave off that big forehead of hers."

Without another word, either to each other, or to the highly upset dark-haired girl, they turned and skipped away, Stephanie - of course - leading the way. Hinata trembled as she watched them leave. They were still laughing, still giggling to each other, still being complete and utter jerks. Meanwhile, some students in the hallway were still laughing and staring at Hinata, some of the popular ones giving Stephanie and Katie high fives as they headed for their classrooms.

Hinata closed her eyes again. There were the memories. Coming back to haunt her.

Without a word, she threw her books down onto the floor, and headed straight for the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Soft, silvery-gray sunlight poured in through the mosaic glass window of Kotoba High's third floor female bathroom. A dark-haired girl sat in the very last stall, tears dripping from her chin, her face flushed, and her knees trembling.<p>

Hinata cried bitterly. She didn't care how long she had already been in there. She didn't even know _why _she was still crying. All she knew was that here she was, sitting in the bathroom with her legs against the toilet seat, her hands covering her face, and almost four hours of school passed by. But it didn't really matter. She hated school anyways. She hated school, she hated people, but she especially hated those girls who had embarrassed her out of her wit's end. Thoughts of their nasty comments rang through her mind repeatedly, and had been doing so for the past hours. Thoughts like:

_"Hi, **ugly person**."_

_"Oh... It's a girl? I thought it was a **boy**. I mean, **her hair is so effing short**."_

_"**Ew**, she's talking."_

_"What do you think of this idea, **ugly girl?**"_

_"**F- her **then."_

Wiping the tears from her face, she closed her eyes. Was she really that ugly? Was she really so ugly that she had been called a boy...? She ran a sudden hand through her hair, feeling along her forehead and especially her ends.

...Yeah. She _did _have short hair. No bangs, either. She could have _easily _been mistaken for a boy. ...But was that _her _fault? Could she really be blamed for the style of hair that her mother had been so used to giving her- the style of hair that she had grown up with? It's not like she had said, "I'm going to make myself look as ugly as possible!" was it?

Hinata sighed bitterly. As girls entered and exited the bathroom, completely oblivious to the almost silent crying that was going on in the very last stall, she found herself suddenly very afraid of them.

Teenage girls. They were worms. They were nothing more than horrible, dirty, nasty, jerks who made fun of every little thing that was either prettier than or uglier than them. They teased people, they spat at people... They were so stupid that they even destroyed their own friendships with each other! They were like immature little children with nothing better to do with their lives.

_'Stupid...annoying...horrible...people...'_ she thought angrily, her lips trembling. _'I hate them all... I'll never...be friends with them. Ever...'_

Her fists were shaking. She sighed, not realizing that she had made fists in the first place.

_'I've never been...so angry in my life...' _she thought. _'Why...am I always getting teased...? Why is it...that people just seem to hate me so much? ...I never see them making fun of anyone else. It's always me... I'll never...ever...like teenage girls... Never... They're all so...horrible-'_

"Hinataaaaaa!"

A sudden voice startled Hinata out of her thoughts. She raised her head slowly.

"Hinata, are you in here?"

It was Sakura's voice. She seemed worry-stricken. Hinata closed her eyes again, ignoring her.

"Hinata, I know you're in here! I've already checked all the other bathrooms!" Sakura said, pounding loudly against the bathroom door. "I don't know _why _you're not meeting us for lunch right now, but...I promise you, I'm going to find out!"

Hinata swallowed.

"I'll give you three seconds to answer before I slam open the door! ...This is a warning to any of you girls who are still in the stalls; My name is Haruno Sakura, if you haven't figured it out already, and I suggest you get your fat behinds out of there before I-"

Before she could finish, three stall doors opened simultaneously, followed by the sounds of flushing and the quick, panicked footsteps of three girls who obviously knew who Haruno Sakura was.

"Now _that's_ more like it." Sakura cracked her knuckles. "Alright, Hinata. Now I _know _you're in there, in that last stall. It doesn't take thirty minutes to use the bathroom. So either a) you're upset. Or b) you're hiding from us. If you're angry at us because we left you... We didn't leave you because we were being mean...! We left to get you over your fears!"

Hinata gritted her teeth. So that was why.

"I'm... I'm..."

"What was that?"

"I'm..." Hinata struggled to get her words out. "...please..."

"...Erm...are you okay in there? You don't have a major case of..._you know_...diarrhea...do you?"

Hinata flushed. "N...No!"

"Well alright then. I'm opening the door-"

"W-Wait! I'm...I'm coming out."

Hinata quickly wiped her face, her eyes still pink from hours of crying. She opened the stall door hesitantly. When Sakura saw the pink in her friend's eyes, and the remnants of tears that had been streaming down her face, she sighed and shook her head slowly.

"Hinata, Hinata..."

"Um... I'm sorry, Sakura-chan... For not meeting you all...for lunch..."

Sakura sighed again. "It would have been different if it were anyone but you, Hinata. You're always cowering in a corner and being afraid... It makes us all worried. Even Naruto - and he's usually calm - was worried about you."

Hinata bit her lip. "I'm...sorry."

"We don't want an apology, Hinata. We want to make sure you're safe. We're your friends, after all. Well...more like _pals _at the moment, since we've just met and all, but..." She raised her arms, letting them fall against her sides. "Why were you hiding in here anyways?"

"It's nothing..."

"Hinata." Sakura narrowed her eyebrows. "I know it's not nothing. ...You can't lie very well."

"But I don't want to talk about it..."

"Well _I _do."

Hinata sighed.

"Well..."

"'Well'?"

"I just... I had an accident."

Sakura's eyes widened. "An accident? What kind? Did you hurt yourself? Did you-"

"N...No! I mean, an...incident."

"What type of incident?"

Hinata lowered her head. "It's just..."

"Come on and tell me, so I can tell the others. Then maybe we can help you."

"Well... The two girls from before... They..." Hinata bit her lip. "They..."

"They?"

"..._They made me skip down the hall with them and were making fun of me_!" Hinata cried, all as one word. She closed her eyes tight as she said this, like a little girl without any self control.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Made you skip down the...?"

"Yeah..."

"As in, a teasing way, or...?"

"A teasing way..."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "So you were sitting in here all this time because of that?"

Hinata nodded her head shamefully. "...Yeah..."

For a moment, it looked like Sakura were going to yell at her - she was angry-looking after all - but after a moment, she simply sighed.

"...Those stupid f-ers. They don't know who they're messing with."

Hinata swallowed. "Um...Sakura-chan?"

"Yeah...?"

"They...um... They..."

"They?"

"They said, 'Tell your pink-haired friend to go f off'..."

Sakura's cheeks flushed deep red. "What?"

"And they said...'I'll rip that stupid, ugly weave off that big forehead'-"

"W-W-WHAT!"

Hinata ducked as Sakura's leg came flying over her head, slamming into the door of the stall, and nearly knocking it off its hinges. "I'LL FREAKING POUND THEIR EYES OUT OF THEIR HEAD, AND...AND...! HOW _DARE THEM_ CALL MY HAIR A FAKE, UGLY WEAVE!" She raised a fist angrily, turning back towards the now shaking Hinata. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down, although her fists were still shaking. "...Thank you for telling me this, Hinata... I'll... I'll deal with them... Did you catch their names? What do they look like?"

"It was...um...Stephanie... And Katie..." Hinata said. "And...um...one of them had long blonde hair. The other one was...sorta chubby... And had long brown hair..."

"...Stephanie and Katie, huh?" Sakura muttered to herself. "They don't sound like they're from around here at all..."

"Yeah..."

"Don't look so sad. I'll get them. Just you wait," Sakura said, cracking her knuckles and neck.

Hinata nodded, although sadly.

"Come on, Hinata. Cheer up. I told you I'd get them for you."

"It's not that, Sakura-chan..."

"Well then what's wrong?"

"It's just... It's just..." Hinata could feel tears coming to her eyes again. She quickly blinked them away. "Am I... Am I _ugly_, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked. "...Why would you ask me that? Of course you're not ugly."

"Well... They called me 'ugly girl'... And the skinny girl said I looked like a boy..."

Sakura sighed, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hinata. Look at me."

Hinata complied.

"You. Are. Not. Ugly."

"But-"

"Don't let the words of a couple girls fool you."

"But..."

"Every time you allow their words to get you, they win. Don't you see that?"

"But..."

"Just believe in yourself!"

"But _Sakura-chan!_" Hinata cried, quite to her own surprise. "All of my life... People have called me ugly... Even my own cousins... And...and..." She curled her fingers into tight fists. "And... even my own _mother...!_"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Your own mother?"

"N...Nevermind..."

"No, tell me."

"I don't want to... " Her eyes bubbled up with tears. "I don't want to talk about it..."

Sakura sighed, placing her hands against her feminine, perfectly curvy hips. She was beautiful, Hinata thought. More beautiful than _she _was. She had beautiful, long pink hair, and strong, male-attracting green eyes. Her body had the perfect shape, and her legs were long and lean.

Looking down at her own legs, Hinata sighed. Were they as long and lean as Sakura's...?

Sakura seemed to notice this. She suddenly snapped her fingers, a grin spreading from cheek to cheek. "I've got it!"

"What...?"

"Come meet me at my house after school. I'm going to give you a surprise."

Hinata blinked.

"Which way do you go home?" Sakura asked her.

"Um... I turn left from the school, and then-"

"Instead of turning left, turn _right _this time. Walk straight for about two blocks until you come to a little floral shop on your right. That's _my_ house." Sakura sniffed, slightly proud. "You can just walk right in, since it's a shop and all. ...And if I'm not at the front desk, ask whoever's there for me."

"But... My mother won't-"

"Just tell her that you're meeting me for a surprise," Sakura said, plucking Hinata's nose. "I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed. It's _very_ cool."

Hinata blinked. A "very cool" surprise...?

* * *

><p><em>'A very cool surprise...' <em>

Hinata pondered the thought in confusion as she stood silently outside the flower shop, her nervousness beginning to tear her in two. She had been looking through the sunlit glass for almost five minutes now, her books trembling in her arms as she absolutely _refused _to go inside. It wasn't because she was scared of Sakura, of course. It was mostly because she was scared of possibly meeting Sakura's parents, or siblings, if she had any. Meeting new people was always a good cause to be afraid.

"I can do this... I can do this..." she encouraged herself quietly.

Five more minutes passed. It was getting hot outside. Sucking in a deep breath, Hinata forced herself to stand by the door.

Five more minutes passed. She was getting hotter. Hinata placed her hand against the door handle.

Two minutes passed. She started to open the door...

"HINATA!"

Startled, Hinata released the heavy door, watching as it slammed against her face. She rubbed her aching nose painfully. Sakura ran towards her from the front desk and opened the door for her, a pitying expression on her face.

"What are you doing just standing out here? Come on in!" Sakura said, oddly happy. Her hair had been tied back into two very low pigtails that fell against her back.

"O...Okay..." Hinata muttered lowly. She was beginning to feel slightly jealous of Sakura; her beauty, her strong-willed nature, her sheer strength... Not to mention the floral shop she owned. How could someone with so many good things going for her be so angry so often?

"What's wrong Hinata? You look dazed." Sakura laughed, pulling Hinata roughly into the store. "Now come on. I have something special for you."

"What...what is it?"

"It's a surprise, of course."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Hinata simply nodded. She and Sakura headed towards a room that was behind the cash register desk. Inside this room was a stairway that wrapped up in a rectangular shape, like the kind of stairways that they had in schools and apartment buildings, Hinata noted. They went upstairs and were immediately met with an average-sized hallway that led into several different rooms. Before Hinata could see just what they all were, however, Sakura had pushed her quickly into a room that smelled of flowers and honey. It was a pretty small room, with lavender-white walls and a twin-sized bed in the far right corner. A mirror was attached to the dresser that sat on the left, where all sorts of hair products, hair dyes, and accessories sat neatly on top. A flat iron - already steaming - lay in the center, on a soft fabric-like mat that Hinata knew was to protect the wood on the desk from catching on fire.

"So?" Sakura asked as she closed the door carefully behind them. "What do you think?"

"It's...a nice room..." Hinata responded respectfully, although...

"I know it's pretty small," Sakura said, "but I think it will still be able to handle your surprise even so." She motioned Hinata towards the chair that sat in front of the dresser. "Go on, sit down."

Hinata did so, a little frightened with the flat iron steaming directly in front of her face.

"...Now..." Sakura clasped her hands together. "It's time for your _makeover_!"

Hinata's eyes widened at the word. She suddenly jumped up, her knees banging into the dresser and almost knocking a heavy bottle of spray onto the floor. "M...MAKEOVER...?"

"Yep! That's the surprise."

Hinata shook her head quickly. "No... I can't... I can't..."

"Hinata." Sakura gently pushed her back down into the seat. "_Trust me_."

"But... I can't... What if... What if it turns out..."

"Wrong? Well it won't." Sakura grinned. "Just trust me on this one. I promise I won't make you look ugly. I promise."

Hinata swallowed hard. A makeover? But...why? If she already supposedly looked like a boy, what would a makeover possibly do to help her...?

"But Sakura-chan..."

"Hinata. Listen to me." Sakura spun the chair around to face her. "You'll look great when we're finished. You'll look like a superstar. I _promise_."

Hinata bit her lip.

"Pinky swear? I promise I won't make you look bad."

Sakura held out her pinky finger, the sly smile never leaving her face. Hinata hesitated.

"Sakura-chaaan..."

"Hinata-chaaan..."

Hinata sighed. "Well... If you promise...if you promise to make me look like a superstar, then... I suppose..."

"You suppose...?"

"I...I suppose it wouldn't hurt..."

"Good. Now pinky swear it."

Hinata clasped her pinky finger with Sakura's. They shook hands as well, _just _to seal the deal extra carefully.

"Great!" Sakura said, obviously excited. It looked like she had been waiting for this moment her entire life. "I can't wait to actually do this...! Be _right _back."

Hinata waited fearfully as Sakura searched her closet for something. There was a loud rustling, like a plastic bag was being messed through, and then, finally, Sakura turned around, holding a bag that looked like it was filled with the most beautiful dark, dark brown hair that Hinata had ever seen. It was so brown that it was almost black - but not quite. Hinata's eyes widened at the sight.

"This, Hinata, is your new look."

"But...what is-"

"It's one hundred percent dark, dark brown human hair. I bought it from the hair shop down the street." She grinned. "I would have gotten a plain black, but... With _this _color, your hair will almost seem to glow when sunlight hits it. It's _perfect_. I'll also dye the ends purple to make it look _really _cute."

Hinata swallowed. She was going to be wearing..._that_?

"But...how...?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm going to give you a sew-in weave. You know. It's when I braid all of your hair into small cornrows-"

"NO!"

"...and then take a needle-"

"NO, SAKURA-CHAN...!"

"...and attach a string to it. Then I sew the human hair into your cornrows, starting at the bottom and ending all the way at the top. When I'm finished, your hair will look as though it had never been cornrowed, and it will look like it's your actual hair."

Hinata bit her lip. That sounded...not quite so bad as she had thought...

"And also, I'm going to give you a _bit _of makeup."

"M...Makeup?"

"Yeah. You're going to _love _it. Eyelashes, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil... The whole shabang!"

"Sha-"

"Now I'm not going to let you look until I'm finished. Just trust me on this, though."

"But..."

"_Trust me_."

Hinata bit her lip, hesitating. "O...Okay... I think..."

"Good. Now here we go..."

* * *

><p>"Finished!"<p>

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. Sakura's face was only inches away from hers, and a huge smile was on her lips. The pink-haired girl suddenly raised a fist into the air, backing away. She looked happy. No. She looked incredibly happy.

"Hinata... Oh...my...gosh... You look so beautiful..."

Hinata blinked. "Wh...What?"

"Just turn around and see for yourself..."

Hinata turned her chair around slowly, not expecting to see much. After all, she truly _was _ugly, according to the two girls. How much can you add to make an ugly person look...look...look...

...Hinata gasped at her reflection.

Beautiful, long, dark, dark brown hair with purple streaks on the ends hung down just beneath her breasts, as straight and silky as an ironed shirt. It was incredibly long, and incredibly smooth and shiny, she thought. She had beautiful bangs as well; they hung down against her forehead, coming down just beneath her eyebrows. But although this was pretty, and definitely made her stand out, she was moreso surprised at the makeup that lined her face. Dark black eyeliner had been drawn on both her upper and lower eyelids, _just_ far enough away from the eye so that it didn't touch it. Long eyelashes had been glued to her previous ones. They seemed to flutter up and down whenever she blinked. And her pale face was no longer pale; light tan blush - not red or pink - had been wiped around her entire face, covering up the paleness so that she didn't look so bleached anymore. But no. This wasn't it. She had _lip gloss _as well. It smelled like berries and cream, and sparkled in the light from the dresser bulbs.

Hinata's lower lip trembled. She... She...

"Wait! Lean back really quick. I almost forgot something," Sakura said.

Hinata leaned back immediately, her trust for Sakura having grown to a full-blown level.

"Now keep your eyes wide open, and look to your left. I'm going to put something in them that might feel strange, but..."

"N...No problem Sakura-chan."

Hinata swallowed as something clear was placed over her eyes. It felt strange. She blinked as her eyes suddenly watered, not accustomed to this strange feeling.

"It feels weird..."

"Don't worry about it. Just look in the mirror."

As her vision cleared up, Hinata looked in the mirror...

"Sakura-chan! It's...so pretty!"

...and saw that she now had the most beautiful deep blue eyes that she had ever seen in her life. They were the color of the sky on a perfectly cloudless day, but slightly deeper.

"I thought you might like that," Sakura said, grinning. "It covers up the fact that you don't have any pupils. But somehow, it looks _better _since you don't have any pupils. Pupils sometimes make people's eyes look...strange."

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata covered her mouth with her hands, her entire body trembling, but in happiness. "I can't believe how..."

"How pretty you are? Me neither. I didn't expect it to come out this good _at all_." Sakura placed a hand behind her head, still grinning. "You must have an adorable face shape for everything to come out so good. I mean, your sleek nose, your small lips, your large eyes... It's really scary how good it turned out."

Hinata could only nod, her smile widening. She felt like crying, she was so happy.

"I'm actually starting to feel a little jealous," Sakura admitted jokingly. "Maybe I should start wearing more makeup. You might just snatch Sasuke away from me!" she laughed.

Hinata shook her head quickly, pursing her lips. "No way Sakura-chan. I'm...I'm not that pretty."

"You just wait and see. Boys will be flying_ all _over you tomorrow."

Hinata blushed.

"Well then, I guess we'd better clean up this mess. I've got hair all over the floor and stuff."

Nodding, Hinata glanced one more time in the mirror before stepping out of her seat. As she helped Sakura to clean up the mess they had made, she could hardly contain her excitement.

Just what would happen tomorrow...?

* * *

><p>Author's Note: So Hinata finally got her makeover. What will happen?<p> 


End file.
